Current content filtering mechanisms, such as those based on parental controls, may use network protocol detection and manipulation that is port and/or application specific. In such a set-up, assumptions can be made regarding content filtering based on the type of application a user is using, or a designated port that is being used for sending and/or receiving data. Thus, if a user is using a web browsing application, for instance, an assumption can be made that the protocol may be HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) or FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Similarly, if some specific port is being used to send and receive data subscribing to a specific protocol, such as HTTP or FTP, an assumption can be made that any current or future traffic sent through this port will subscribe to the same protocol used in the past.
However, it would be advantageous to provide mechanisms that allow for protocol-level content filtering at least in an application and port agnostic manner-which may allow for a more complete solution for protocol filtering, given that any instance of a protocol can be handled that either enters or exists at a system. Moreover, it would be advantageous to provide mechanisms that can handle multiple protocol detection and manipulation scenarios.